Intelligent electronic footwear and control logic for executing automated footwear features

ABSTRACT

Presented are intelligent electronic footwear with controller automated features, methods for making/using such footwear, and control systems for executing automated features of intelligent electronic footwear. An intelligent electronic shoe (IES) includes an upper that attaches to a user&#39;s foot, and a sole structure that is attached to the upper and supports thereon the user&#39;s foot. An alert system, which is mounted to the sole structure and/or upper, generates predetermined outputs in response to electronic command signals. The IES system also includes a wireless communications device that wirelessly communicates with a remote computing node, and a footwear controller that communicates with the wireless communications device and alert system. The footwear controller receives location data indicative of the user&#39;s and remote computing node&#39;s locations, determines whether the user&#39;s location is within a predetermined location/proximity to the node&#39;s location and, if so, transmits command signals to the alert system to notify the user/vehicle.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY AND CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/114,632, which was filed on Aug. 28, 2018, is now U.S. Pat. No.10,178,890, and claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/678,796, which was filed on May 31, 2018, bothof which are incorporated herein by reference in their respectiveentireties and for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to wearable electronic devices.More specifically, aspects of this disclosure relate to systems,methods, and devices for enabling automated features of intelligentelectronic footwear and apparel.

BACKGROUND

Articles of footwear, such as shoes, boots, slippers, sandals, and thelike, are generally composed of two primary elements: an upper forsecuring the footwear to a user's foot; and a sole structure forproviding subjacent support for the foot. Uppers may be fabricated froma variety of materials—including textiles, foams, polymers, natural andsynthetic leathers, etc.—that are stitched or adhesively bonded togetherto form a shell or harness for securely receiving a foot. For sandalsand slippers, the upper may have an open toe or heel construction or maybe generally limited to a series of straps extending over the instepand, in some designs, around the ankle. Conversely, boot and shoedesigns incorporate a full upper with a closed toe and heelconstruction, and an ankle opening through a rear quarter portion thatprovides access to the footwear's interior, facilitating entry andremoval of the foot into and from the upper. A shoelace or strap may beutilized to secure the foot within the upper.

The sole structure is generally attached to a lower portion of theupper, positioned between the user's foot and the ground. In manyarticles of footwear, including athletic shoes, the sole structure is alayered construction that generally incorporates a comfort-enhancinginsole, an impact-mitigating midsole, and a surface-contacting outsole.The insole, which may be located partially or entirely within the upper,is a thin and compressible member that provides a contact surface forthe underside of the user's foot. By comparison, the midsole is mountedunderneath the insole, forming a middle layer of the sole structure. Inaddition to attenuating ground reaction forces, the midsole may help tocontrol foot motion and impart stability. Secured to the underside ofthe midsole is an outsole that forms the ground-contacting portion ofthe footwear and is usually fashioned from a durable and wear-resistantmaterial that includes features for improving traction.

SUMMARY

Presented herein are intelligent electronic footwear with attendantcontrol logic for enabling automated footwear capabilities, methods formaking and methods for using such footwear, and control systems forprovisioning automated features of intelligent electronic footwear. Byway of example, there is presented an Internet of Adaptive Apparel andFootwear (IoAAF) system that wirelessly communicates with an intelligentelectronic shoe (IES) to automate communication between the shoe and amotor vehicle, i.e., footwear-to-vehicle (F2V) communications. In aride-sharing application, for example, a registered driver is pairedwith a ride-seeking passenger through a dedicated mobile application(“app”) or a web-based applet operating on a personal smartphone orother handheld computing device. Once paired, the rider—while wearing anIES—may wait outside on a curb for the ride-share driver. To assist thedriver with identifying the waiting rider, e.g., in instances where therider is waiting in a crowd or on a busy sidewalk, the IES will automatea hailing feature that helps the driver spot their fare. In particular,the IES tracks the rider's and driver's real-time locations; upondetermining that the rider's location is within a predetermined locationor proximity of the driver's location, the IES will automaticallygenerate a visual or audible output sufficient to draw attention to therider. For instance, an IES processor built into the midsole of the shoeissues a command signal to a built-in shoe light system, causing thelights to illuminate, flash, change color, or a combination thereof.Optionally, or alternatively, the IES processor may wirelessly transmita command prompt to a vehicle control system to responsively produce avisual or audible output, such as activating the vehicle horn or vehiclelight system, to help the rider identify the driver.

To enable wireless communications between an IES and a remote electronicdevice, such as the ride-share driver's automobile, the IES maypiggyback a communications session established by the user's smartphone,handheld computing device, or other portable electronic device withwireless communications capabilities. Alternatively, the IES may operateas a standalone device with a resident wireless communications devicethat is packaged within the shoe structure. Other peripheral hardwaremay include resident memory, controller, shortwave antenna, rechargeablebattery, SIM card, etc., all of which are housed inside the shoestructure. An IES may be equipped with a human-machine interface (HMI)that allows the user to interact with the footwear and/or the IoAAFsystem. For instance, one or more electroactive polymer (EAP) sensorsmay be woven into or formed as patches mounted on the shoe structure andoperable to receive user inputs that allow the user to controloperational aspects of the IES. Likewise, any of the attendantoperations for executing an automated footwear feature may be executedlocally via the IES processor or may be off-boarded in a distributingcomputing fashion for execution by the smartphone, handheld computingdevice, IoAAF system, or any combination thereof.

As yet a further option, execution of any one or more desired footwearfeatures may initially require security authentication of a user via theIES controller and/or an IoAAF system server computer. For instance, adistributed array of sensors within the shoe structure communicates withthe IES processor to perform biometric validation, such as confirming auser's weight (e.g., via pressure sensors), shoe size (e.g., via ElectroAdaptive Reactive Lacing (EARL)), toe print (e.g., via an opticalfingerprint sensor), or other suitable method. As an extension of thisconcept, any of the foregoing sensing devices may be employed as abinary (ON/OFF) switch to confirm the IES is actually on a user's footwhen attempting to execute an automated feature. Once securityauthentication is established, an intelligent electronic shoe may alsobe used as a means for making or accepting a payment or as part of acommercial transaction.

Provisioning wireless data exchanges to facilitate execution of anautomated feature may require the IES be registered with the IoAAFsystem. For instance, a user may record an IES serial number with theIoAAF system, which will then issue a validation key to a personalaccount, e.g., a “digital locker” operating on the user's smartphone,tablet, PC, or laptop, to provide additional authentication.Registration may be completed manually, e.g., via the user, ordigitally, e.g., via a barcode or near-field communication (NFC) tag onthe shoe. A unique virtual shoe may be assigned to an IES and stored inthe digital locker; each virtual shoe may be backed by a blockchainsecurity technology designed to help guarantee uniqueness andauthenticity, such as a cryptographic hash function, a trustedtimestamp, correlating transaction data, etc. Once properly verified,the IES may be used to authenticate the user for entry to concerts,movies, sporting events, airplanes, other mass transit, and the like.While described with reference to an article of footwear as arepresentative application for the novel concepts presented herein, itis envisioned that many of the disclosed options and features may beapplied to other wearable apparel, including clothing, headgear,eyewear, wrist wear, neck wear, leg wear, and the like.

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to networked controlsystems and attendant logic for executing automated footwear features.For instance, an intelligent electronic shoe system is presented thatincludes an article of footwear with an upper that attaches to a user'sfoot, and a sole structure that is attached to the upper and supportsthereon the user's foot. The sole structure includes an outsole thatdefines a bottom-most, ground-engaging portion of the article offootwear. A controller-automated alert system, which is mounted to thefootwear's sole structure and/or upper, is operable to generate visible,audible and/or tactile outputs in response to one or more electroniccommand signals. The IES system also includes a wireless communicationsdevice that wirelessly communicates with a remote computing node, and asystem controller that communicates with the wireless communicationsdevice and alert system. This controller, which may be resident to orremote from the footwear, is programmed to receive location data that isindicative of the user's location and the remote computing node'slocation. Using this data, the controller determines whether the user'slocation is within a predetermined location or proximity to the node'slocation. In response to the user's location being within either thepredetermined location or the predetermined proximity to the node'slocation, the system controller automatically transmits a command signalto the alert system to generate a predetermined visible, audible, and/ortactile alert that is perceptible by the user and/or motor vehicle,e.g., thereby notifying one or both parties of their relativeproximity/location.

Additional aspects of this disclosure are directed to methods forassembling and methods for operating any of the disclosed systems anddevices. In an example, a method is presented for manufacturing anarticle of footwear for a foot of a user. This representative methodincludes, in any order and in any combination with any of the above orbelow disclosed features and options: providing an upper configured toreceive and attach to the foot of the user; providing a sole structureconfigured to support thereon the foot of the user, the sole structurehaving an outsole defining a ground-engaging portion of the footwear;attaching the sole structure to the upper; mounting acontroller-automated alert system to the sole structure and/or upper,the alert system being configured to generate audible, visible and/ortactile outputs in response to command signals; mounting a wirelesscommunications device to the sole structure and/or the upper, thewireless communications device being configured to wirelesslycommunicate with a remote computing node; and mounting a residentcontroller to the sole structure and/or the upper. This residentcontroller is operatively connected to the wireless communicationsdevice and the alert system. The resident controller is programmed to:receive user location data indicative of a current location of the user;receive node location data indicative of a current location of theremote computing node; determine whether the user's location is within apredetermined location or proximity to the node's location; and respondto the user's location being within the predetermined location orproximity to the node's location by automatically transmitting a commandsignal to the alert system to generate a predetermined alert.

In another example, a method of executing an automated feature of anintelligent electronic shoe is presented. This representative methodincludes, in any order and in any combination with any of the above orbelow disclosed features and options: receiving, via a resident orremote wireless communications device, location data indicative of auser location of a user; receiving, via the wireless communicationsdevice, location data indicative of a node location of a remotecomputing node; determining, via a resident or remote footwearcontroller, whether the user is located within a predetermined locationor a predetermined proximity to the node's location; and, in response tothe user location being within either the predetermined location orproximity to the node location, the footwear controller automaticallytransmitting to a resident controller-automated alert system a commandsignal to generate a predetermined visible, audible and/or tactile alertperceptible by the user and/or motor vehicle, e.g., thereby notifyingone or both parties of their relative proximity/location.

Further aspects of the present disclosure are directed to footwear withautomated lighting capabilities. For instance, an article of footwearincludes an upper that receives, at least partially covers, and attachesto a user's foot. A sole structure, which is attached to a lower portionof the upper and supports thereon the user's foot, includes an outsolethat defines the footwear's ground-engaging surface. A resident alertsystem is mounted to the sole structure and selectively actuable togenerate visible, audible and/or tactile alerts in response toelectronic command signals. A resident wireless communications device ismounted inside the sole structure and operable to wirelessly communicatewith a remote computing node, such as a motor vehicle, remote back-endserver computer, middleware node, dedicated software app operating on aportable electronic device, etc.

Continuing with the above example, the footwear is also equipped with aresident controller that is mounted inside the sole structure andcommunicatively connected to the wireless communications device andalert system. This resident controller is programmed to receive locationdata indicative of the user's current location and the remote computingnode's current location. The resident controller then determines whetherthe user's current location is within a predetermined location/proximityto the node's current location. If so, the resident controllerresponsively transmits one or more command signals to the alert systemto generate a predetermined alert notifying the user/vehicle of theirrelative closeness.

For any of the disclosed systems, methods and devices, the footwearcontroller may transmit a command signal to a control system of theremote computing node to generate an audible or visual output, e.g., inresponse to the user location being within the predeterminedlocation/proximity to the node location. For example, the remotecomputing node may be a motor vehicle with a vehicle headlamp system; inthis instance, the visual output prompted by the footwear controller mayinclude illumination, flashing and/or intensification of the lightoutput of the vehicle's headlamp system. Optionally, the footwearcontroller may be operable to coordinate the light output of the vehicleheadlamp system with a predetermined light output of the IES alertsystem. In addition, an audible output prompted by the footwearcontroller may include activation and/or modulation of an audible outputof the motor vehicle's horn system, infotainment system, or othervehicle subsystem capable of producing an audible output. Optionally,the footwear controller may be operable to coordinate the audible outputof the vehicle audio system with a predetermined audio output of the IESalert system.

For any of the disclosed systems, methods and devices, the user may havea portable electronic device, such as a smartphone, tablet, and/orsmartwatch; the wireless communications device may be designed towirelessly connect to the portable electronic device and, through thisconnectivity, wirelessly communicate with the remote computing node. Asanother option, the alert system may include a haptic transducer that ismounted to the shoe structure. In this instance, the footwearcontroller's command signal causes the haptic transducer to generate ahaptic cue, e.g., to notify the user when the user's location is withinthe predetermined location/proximity to the node's location. In the samevein, the alert system may include an audio system that is mounted tothe shoe structure. The footwear controller's command signal may causethe audio system to generate a predetermined sound output, e.g., tonotify the user when the user's location is within the predeterminedlocation/proximity to the node's location.

For any of the disclosed systems, methods and devices, the remotecomputing node may be a central control unit for a resident orcommercial security system. In this instance, the footwear controllermay transmit a deactivation (or activation) command signal to thesecurity system when the user's location is entering (or leaving) apredetermined location or proximity to the residence or buildingmonitored by the security system. Likewise, the remote computing nodemay be a central control unit for a home automation system. In thisinstance, the footwear controller may transmit a command signal to thehome automation system to lock or unlock a door, activate or deactivatea room light, and/or increase or decrease a temperature of a thermostat,e.g., in response to the user's location being within a predeterminedlocation or proximity to a home or a specific room within the homeassociated with the home automation system. The predetermined locationor proximity may be delineated by a geofence that is produced by thefootwear controller. In this instance, a command signal is transmittedto the remote computing node or an IES subsystem upon detection of theremote computing node or IES breaching the geofence.

For any of the disclosed systems, methods and devices, a pressure sensormay be mounted to the shoe structure and configured to detect a presenceof a foot in the upper. For some applications, the command signal may betransmitted to the IES alert system only when there is a detectedpresence of a foot in the upper. Foot presence sensing in an article offootwear may be achieved via a variety of methods, includingpressure/force sensing, capacitive sensing, magnetic signal sensing,etc. Optionally, a pressure sensor may be mounted inside the solestructure and configured to detect a user's weight. From these sensorreadings, the footwear controller may determine if the detected weightof a current user is within a predetermine range of a memory-storedvalidated user weight (i.e., authenticated to a registered user). Oncevalidated, the footwear controller will then transmit the command signalto the IES alert system.

For any of the disclosed systems, methods and devices, the IES mayinclude a shoelace that is attached to the upper, and a lace motor thatis mounted inside the sole structure and operable to selectivelytransition the shoelace/strap between tensioned and untensioned states.The footwear controller may communicate with the lace motor to determinea current state of the shoelace. In this instance, a command signal maybe transmitted to the IES alert system only when the shoelace is in thetensioned state. For at least some configurations, the tensioned statemay include multiple discrete tensioned positions; the IES system mayinclude a lace sensor that detects a current discrete tensioned positionfor a current user. The footwear controller may communicate with thelace sensor to determine if the current discrete tensioned positioncorresponds to a memory-stored validated lace tensioned position (i.e.,authenticated to a registered user). Once the current user is validated,the footwear controller will then transmit the command signal to the IESalert system. Additional information regarding footwear with motorizedlacing and gesture control capabilities can be found, for example, inU.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2016/0262485 and 2018/0020764,both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their respectiveentireties for all purposes. It is also envisioned that user recognitionmay be achieved via gait profiling and analysis, which may be determinedfrom microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) in the shoe, e.g., toauthenticate/validate a user (alone or in combination with validation ona smartphone).

For any of the disclosed systems, methods and devices, the remotecomputing node may include an optical sensor, e.g., as part of a digitalcamera. The predetermined output of the IES alert system may include apersonalized color and/or an encoded blinking pattern that is detectableby the optical sensor and designed to verify the user to the remotecomputing node. For at least some applications, the wirelesscommunications device may include a BLUETOOTH® Low Energy (BLE),low-power and wide-area category (CAT) M1 or narrow-band CAT-NB1wireless interface. As another option, a barcode, a radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) tag, or a near-field communications (NFC) tag maybe attached to the sole structure and/or the upper; these features aredesigned to communicate a security authentication code to the remotecomputing node.

The above summary is not intended to represent every embodiment or everyaspect of the present disclosure. Rather, the foregoing summary merelyprovides an exemplification of some of the novel concepts and featuresset forth herein. The above features and advantages, and other featuresand attendant advantages of this disclosure, will be readily apparentfrom the following detailed description of illustrated examples andrepresentative modes for carrying out the present disclosure when takenin connection with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.Moreover, this disclosure expressly includes any and all combinationsand subcombinations of the elements and features presented above andbelow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a lateral side-view illustration of a representativeintelligent electronic shoe with controller-automated footwear featuresin accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a partially schematic, bottom-view illustration of therepresentative intelligent electronic shoe of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partially schematic, perspective-view illustration of arepresentative user wearing a pair of the intelligent electronic shoesof FIGS. 1 and 2 during a wireless data exchange with a representativeIES system to execute one or more automated footwear features.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for an automated footwear feature protocol thatmay correspond to memory-stored instructions executed by resident orremote control-logic circuitry, programmable controller, or othercomputer-based device or network of devices in accord with aspects ofthe disclosed concepts.

FIG. 5 is a perspective-view illustration of a representative useremploying a pair of the intelligent electronic shoes of FIGS. 1 and 2 toautomate deactivation of a security system to enter a representativebuilding in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a plan-view illustration of a representative user employing apair of the intelligent electronic shoes of FIGS. 1 and 2 to automateactivation or deactivation of one or more subsystems governed by a homeautomation system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure is amenable to various modifications andalternative forms, and some representative embodiments have been shownby way of example in the drawings and will be described in detailherein. It should be understood, however, that the novel aspects of thisdisclosure are not limited to the particular forms illustrated in theabove-enumerated drawings. Rather, the disclosure is to cover allmodifications, equivalents, combinations, subcombinations, permutations,groupings, and alternatives falling within the scope of this disclosureas encompassed by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms.There are shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detailrepresentative embodiments of the disclosure with the understanding thatthese illustrated examples are provided as an exemplification of thedisclosed principles, not limitations of the broad aspects of thedisclosure. To that extent, elements and limitations that are describedin the Abstract, Technical Field, Background, Summary, and DetailedDescription sections, but not explicitly set forth in the claims, shouldnot be incorporated into the claims, singly or collectively, byimplication, inference or otherwise.

For purposes of the present detailed description, unless specificallydisclaimed: the singular includes the plural and vice versa; the words“and” and “or” shall be both conjunctive and disjunctive; the words“any” and “all” shall both mean “any and all”; and the words “including”and “comprising” and “having” shall each mean “including withoutlimitation.” Moreover, words of approximation, such as “about,”“almost,” “substantially,” “approximately,” and the like, may be usedherein in the sense of “at, near, or nearly at,” or “within 0-5% of,” or“within acceptable manufacturing tolerances,” or any logical combinationthereof, for example. Lastly, directional adjectives and adverbs, suchas fore, aft, medial, lateral, proximal, distal, vertical, horizontal,front, back, left, right, etc., may be with respect to an article offootwear when worn on a user's foot and operatively oriented with aground-engaging portion of the sole structure seated on a flat surface,for example.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numbers refer tolike features throughout the several views, there is shown in FIG. 1 arepresentative article of footwear, which is designated generally at 10and portrayed herein for purposes of discussion as an athletic shoe or“sneaker.” The illustrated footwear 10—also referred to herein as“intelligent electronic shoe” or “IES” for brevity—is merely anexemplary application with which novel aspects and features of thisdisclosure may be practiced. In the same vein, implementation of thepresent concepts for a wearable electronic device that is worn on ahuman's foot should also be appreciated as a representative applicationof the concepts disclosed herein. It will be understood that manyaspects and features of this disclosure may be integrated into otherfootwear constructions and may be incorporated into any logicallyrelevant type of wearable electronic device. As used herein, the terms“shoe” and “footwear,” including permutations thereof, may be usedinterchangeably and synonymously to reference any relevant type ofgarment worn on a foot. Lastly, the features illustrated in the drawingsare not necessarily to scale and are provided purely for instructionalpurposes. Thus, the specific and relative dimensions shown in thedrawings are not to be construed as limiting.

The representative article of footwear 10 is generally depicted in FIGS.1 and 2 as a bipartite construction that is primarily composed of afoot-receiving upper 12 mounted on top of a subjacent sole structure 14.For ease of reference, footwear 10 may be divided into three anatomicalregions: a forefoot region RFF, a midfoot region RMF, and a hindfoot(heel) region RHF, as shown in FIG. 2. Footwear 10 may also be dividedalong a vertical plane into a lateral segment SLA—a distal half of theshoe 10 farthest from the sagittal plane of the human body—and a medialsegment SME—a proximal half of the shoe 10 closest to the sagittal planeof the human body. In accordance with recognized anatomicalclassification, the forefoot region RFF is located at the front of thefootwear 10 and generally corresponds with the phalanges (toes),metatarsals, and any interconnecting joints thereof. Interposed betweenthe forefoot and hindfoot regions RFF and RHF is the midfoot region RMF,which generally corresponds with the cuneiform, navicular and cuboidbones (i.e., the arch area of the foot). Heel region RHF, in contrast,is located at the rear of the footwear 10 and generally corresponds withthe talus and calcaneus bones. Both lateral and medial segments SLA andSME of the footwear 10 extend through all three anatomical regions RFF,RMF, RHF, and each corresponds to a respective transverse side of thefootwear 10. While only a single shoe 10 for a left foot of a user isshown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a mirrored, substantially identical counterpartfor a right foot of a user may be provided, as shown in FIG. 3.Recognizably, the shape, size, material composition, and method ofmanufacture of the shoe 10 may be varied, singly or collectively, toaccommodate practically any conventional or nonconventional application.

With reference to FIG. 1, the upper 12 is depicted as having a closedtoe and heel configuration that is generally defined by threeinterconnected sections: a toe box 12A, which covers and protects thetoes, a vamp 12B, which is aft of the toe box 12A and extends around thelace eyelets 16 and tongue 18, and a quarter 12C, which is aft of thevamp 12B and includes the rear and sides of the upper 12 that covers theheel. The upper 12 portion of the footwear 10 may be fabricated from anyone or combination of a variety of materials, such as textiles, foams,polymers, natural and synthetic leathers, etc., that are stitched,adhesively bonded, or welded together to form an interior void forcomfortably receiving a foot. The individual material elements of theupper 12 may be selected and located with respect to the footwear 10 inorder to selectively impart properties of durability, air-permeability,wear-resistance, flexibility, and comfort, for example. An ankle opening15 in the rear quarter 12C of the upper 12 provides access to theinterior of the shoe 10. A shoelace 20, strap, buckle, or otherconventional mechanism may be utilized to modify the girth of the upper12 to more securely retain the foot within the interior of the shoe 10as well as to facilitate entry and removal of the foot from the upper12. Shoelace 20 may be threaded through a series of eyelets in the upper12; the tongue 18 may extend between the lace 20 and the interior voidof the upper 12.

Sole structure 14 is rigidly secured to the upper 12 such that the solestructure 14 extends between the upper 12 and a support surface uponwhich a user stands (e.g., ground surface G_(S1) of FIG. 3). In effect,the sole structure 14 functions as an intermediate support platform thatseparates the user's foot from the ground. In addition to attenuatingground reaction forces and providing cushioning for the foot, solestructure 14 of FIG. 1 may provide traction, impart stability, and helpto limit various foot motions, such as inadvertent foot inversion andeversion. In accordance with the illustrated example, the sole structure14 is fabricated as a sandwich structure with a top-most insole 22, anintermediate midsole 24, and a bottom-most outsole 26. Insole 22 isshown located partially within the interior void of the footwear 10,firmly secured to a lower portion of the upper 12, such that the insole22 is located adjacent a plantar surface of the foot. Underneath theinsole 22 is a midsole 24 that incorporates one or more materials orembedded elements that enhance the comfort, performance, and/orground-reaction-force attenuation properties of footwear 10. Theseelements and materials may include, individually or in any combination,a polymer foam material, such as polyurethane or ethylvinylacetate,filler materials, moderators, air-filled bladders, plates, lastingelements, or motion control members. Outsole 26, which may be absent insome configurations of footwear 10, is secured to a lower surface of themidsole 24. The outsole 26 may be formed from a rubber material thatprovides a durable and wear-resistant surface for engaging the ground.In addition, outsole 26 may also be textured to enhance the traction(i.e., friction) properties between footwear 10 and the underlyingsupport surface.

FIG. 3 is a partially schematic illustration of an exemplary IES datanetwork and communications system, designated generally as 30, forprovisioning wireless data exchanges to execute one or more automatedfootwear features for a pair of intelligent electronic shoes 10 worn bya user or client 13. While illustrating a single user 13 communicatingover the IES system 30 with a single motor vehicle 32, it is envisionedthat any number of users may communicate with any number of motorvehicles or other remote computing nodes that are suitably equipped forwirelessly exchanging information and data. One or both IES 10 of FIG. 3communicatively couple to a remote host system 34 or a cloud computingsystem 36 via a wireless communications network 38. Wireless dataexchanges between the IES 10 and IES system 30 may be conducteddirectly, e.g., in configurations in which the IES 10 is equipped as astandalone device, or indirectly, e.g., by pairing and piggy backing theIES 10 onto a smartphone 40, smartwatch 42, wireless fidelity (WiFi)node, or other suitable device. In this regard, the IES 10 maycommunicate directly with the motor vehicle 32, e.g., via a short-rangewireless communication device (e.g., a BLUETOOTH® unit or near fieldcommunications (NFC) transceiver), a dedicated short-rangecommunications (DSRC) component, a radio antenna, etc. Only selectcomponents of the IES 10 and IES system 30 have been shown and will bedescribed in detail herein. Nevertheless, the systems and devicesdiscussed herein can include numerous additional and alternativefeatures, and other available hardware and well-known peripheralcomponents, for example, to carry out the various methods and functionsdisclosed herein.

With continuing reference to FIG. 3, the host system 34 may beimplemented as a high-speed server computing device or a mainframecomputer capable of handling bulk data processing, resource planning,and transaction processing. For instance, the host system 34 may operateas the host in a client-server interface for conducting any necessarydata exchanges and communications with one or more “third party” serversto complete a particular transaction. The cloud computing system 36, onthe other hand, may operate as middleware for IoT (Internet of Things),WoT (Web of Things), Internet of Adaptive Apparel and Footwear (IoAAF),and/or M2M (machine-to-machine) services, connecting an assortment ofheterogeneous electronic devices with a service-oriented architecture(SOA) via a data network. As an example, cloud computing system 36 maybe implemented as a middleware node to provide different functions fordynamically onboarding heterogeneous devices, multiplexing data fromeach of these devices, and routing the data through reconfigurableprocessing logic for processing and transmission to one or moredestination applications. Network 38 may be any available type ofnetwork, including a combination of public distributed computingnetworks (e.g., Internet) and secured private networks (e.g., local areanetwork, wide area network, virtual private network). It may alsoinclude wireless and wireline transmission systems (e.g., satellite,cellular network, terrestrial networks, etc.). In at least some aspects,most if not all data transaction functions carried out by the IES 10 maybe conducted over a wireless network, such as a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) or cellular data network, to ensure freedom of movementof the user 13 and IES 10.

Footwear 10 is equipped with an assortment of embedded electronichardware to operate as a hands-free, rechargeable, and intelligentwearable electronic device. The various electronic components of the IES10 are governed by one or more electronic controller devices, such as aresident footwear controller 44 (FIG. 2) that is packaged inside thesole structure 14 of footwear 10. The footwear controller 44 maycomprise any one or various combinations of one or more of: a logiccircuit, a dedicated control module, an electronic control unit, aprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit, or any suitableintegrated circuit device, whether resident, remote or a combination ofboth. By way of example, the footwear controller 44 may include aplurality of microprocessors including a master processor, a slaveprocessor, and a secondary or parallel processor. Controller 44, as usedherein, may comprise any combination of hardware, software, and/orfirmware disposed inside and/or outside of the shoe structure of the IES10 that is configured to communicate with and/or control the transfer ofdata between the IES 10 and a bus, computer, processor, device, service,and/or network. The controller 44 is generally operable to execute anyor all of the various computer program products, software, applications,algorithms, methods and/or other processes disclosed herein. Routinesmay be executed in real-time, continuously, systematically, sporadicallyand/or at regular intervals, for example, each 100 microseconds, 3.125,6.25, 12.5, 25 and 100 milliseconds, etc., during ongoing use oroperation of the controller 44.

Footwear controller 44 may include or may communicate with a resident orremote memory device, such as a resident footwear memory 46 that ispackaged inside the sole structure 14 of footwear 10. Resident footwearmemory 46 may comprise semiconductor memory, including volatile memory(e.g., a random-access memory (RAM) or multiple RAM) and non-volatilememory (e.g., read only memory (ROM) or an EEPROM), magnetic-diskstorage media, optical storage media, flash memory, etc. Long-rangecommunication capabilities with remote networked devices may be providedvia one or more or all of a cellular network chipset/component, asatellite service chipset/component, or a wireless modem orchipset/component, all of which are collectively represented at 48 inFIG. 2. Close-range wireless connectivity may be provided via aBLUETOOTH® transceiver, an RFID tag, an NFC device, a DSRC component, ora radio antenna, all of which are collectively represented at 50. Aresident power supply, such as a lithium ion battery 52 with plug-in orcable-free (induction or resonance) rechargeable capabilities, may beembedded within upper 12 or sole structure 14 of the footwear 10.Wireless communications may be further facilitated throughimplementation of a BLUETOOTH Low Energy (BLE), category (CAT) M1 orCAT-NB1 wireless interface. The various communications devices describedabove may be configured to exchange data between devices as part of asystematic or periodic beacon message that is broadcast in afootwear-to-vehicle (F2V) information exchange, a footwear-to-everything(F2X) information exchange, e.g., footwear-to-infrastructure (F21),footwear-to-pedestrian (F2P), or footwear-to-footwear (F2F).

Location and movement of the IES 10 and, thus, the user 13 may betracked via a location tracking device 54, which can reside inside thesole structure 14 or the upper 12. Location can be determined through asatellite-based global positioning system (GPS), iBeacons, BLUETOOTH,WiFi, or other suitable navigation system. In an example, a GPS systemmay monitor the location of a person, a motor vehicle or other targetobject on earth using a collaborating group of orbiting GPS satellitesthe communicate with a suitable GPS transceiver to thereby generate, inreal-time, a time-stamped series of data points. In addition toproviding data relating to absolute latitudinal and absolutelongitudinal position coordinates of a GPS receiver borne by a targetobject, data provided via the GPS system may be adapted and used toprovide information regarding elapsed time during execution of adesignated operation, a total distance moved, an elevation or altitudeat a specific location, an elevation change within a designated windowof time, a movement direction, a movement speed, and the like.Aggregated sets of the foregoing GPS data may be used by the residentfootwear controller 44 to estimate a predicted route of the user 13. GPSsystem data, singly and collectively, may be used to supplement andoptionally to calibrate accelerometer-based or other pedometer-basedspeed and distance data. To this end, information collected by the GPSsatellite system may be used to generate correction factors and/orcalibration parameters for use by the IES 10 to help ensure accuratesensor data and, thus, optimal system operation.

Even without a GPS receiver, the IES 10 can determine location andmovement information through cooperation with a cellular system througha process known as “trilateration.” A cellular system's towers and basestations communicate radio signals and are arranged into a network ofcells. Cellular devices, such as IES 10, may be equipped with low-powertransmitters for communicating with the nearest tower, base station,router, or access point. As a user moves with the IES 10, e.g., from onecell to another, the base stations monitor the strength of thetransmitter's signal. When the IES 10 moves toward the edge of one cell,the transmitter signal strength diminishes for a current tower. At thesame time, the base station in the approaching cell detects a strengthincrease in the signal. As the user moves into a new cell, the towerstransfer the signal from one to the next. Resident footwear controller44 can determine the location of the IES 10 based on measurements of thetransmitter signals, such as the angle of approach to the cell tower(s),the respective time it takes for individual signals to travel tomultiple towers, and the respective strength of each signal when itreaches a corresponding tower. According to other aspects of the presentconcepts, one or more movement sensing devices may be integrated intothe shoe structure to determine dynamic movement (e.g., translation,rotation, velocity, acceleration, etc.) of the IES 10 with respect to anestablished datum or reference (e.g., position, spatial orientation,reaction, force, velocity, acceleration, electrical contact, etc.) aboutor along one or more axes.

With collective reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, article of footwear 10 maybe equipped with a resident lighting system 56 with one or more lightingdevices governed by footwear controller 44 to selectively illuminate theshoe structure and surrounding areas thereof. Different types oflighting devices may be employed by the lighting system 56, includinglight emitting diodes (LEDs), electroluminescent panels (ELP), compactflorescent lamps (CFL), high intensity discharge lamps, flexible andinflexible organic LED displays, flat-panel liquid-crystal displays(LCD), as well as other available types of lighting elements. Any numberof lighting devices may be disposed on any portion of shoe 10; as shown,a first lighting device 58 is packaged inside the sole structure 14,located within the midfoot region Rw of the footwear 10. First lightingdevice 58 is positioned immediately adjacent a window 60 (FIG. 1) thatseals off a frame aperture extending through a peripheral wall of thesole structure 14 on the lateral side of the shoe 10. This lightingdevice 58 may be operated in an illuminated or “ON” state, anon-illuminated or “OFF” state, a series of illumination intensities(e.g., low, medium and high light outputs), an assortment of colors,and/or an assortment of illumination patterns. With this arrangement,the first lighting device 58 selectively illuminates a portion of upper12, a portion of the sole 14, and a portion of the ground surfaceGs/adjacent the IES 10.

With reference now to the flow chart of FIG. 4, an improved method orcontrol strategy for executing an automated feature, for example thefootwear features illustrated in FIG. 3, for a wearable electronicdevice, such as IES 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2, is generally described at 100in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Some or all of theoperations illustrated in FIG. 4 and described in further detail belowmay be representative of an algorithm that corresponds toprocessor-executable instructions that may be stored, for example, inmain or auxiliary or remote memory, and executed, for example, by aresident or remote controller, central processing unit (CPU), controllogic circuit, or other module or device, to perform any or all of theabove or below described functions associated with the disclosedconcepts. It should be recognized that the order of execution of theillustrated operation blocks may be changed, additional blocks may beadded, and some of the blocks described may be modified, combined, oreliminated.

Method 100 begins at terminal block 101 with processor-executableinstructions for a programmable controller or control module orsimilarly suitable processor, such as resident footwear controller 44 orFIG. 2, to call up an initialization procedure for a protocol to governoperation of a wearable electronic device, such as IES 10 of FIG. 1.This routine may be called-up and executed in real-time, continuously,systematically, sporadically, and/or at regular intervals, etc., duringuse of the intelligent electronic shoe 10. With reference to the IESdata network and communications system 30 architecture of FIG. 3, as arepresentative implementation of the methodology set forth in FIG. 4,the initialization procedure at block 101 may be commenced each time theuser 13 activates a ride-sharing software application through thesmartphone 40 or smartwatch 42, or each time the user 13 is paired witha rideshare driver/vehicle 32 through the ride-sharing softwareapplication. Utilizing a dedicated mobile application or a web-basedapplet operating on one of the aforementioned portable computingdevices, the ride-seeking client 13 is paired with a rideshare driver(e.g., the operator of motor vehicle 32) that is registered with arideshare server system (e.g., UBER®, LYFT®, etc., represented by cloudcomputing system 36). The illustrated example portrays a single rider—aprivate individual—receiving transportation from a single prospectivedriver—another private individual—in the driver's privately-ownedautomobile. However, it is envisioned that the IES system 30 include anynumber of prospective riders seeking rides from any number of registereddrivers operating any logically relevant type of motor vehicle. In thisregard, the fleet of available drivers may be comprised of privateindividuals, salaried or contract employees, public transit, private caror taxi service, autonomous vehicles, or any combination thereof.

To enhance security, a transaction between the IES 10 and IES system 30can be enabled by an authentication process at predefined process block103. Authentication may be performed by a primary or secondary sourcethat confirms proper activation of a wearable electronic device and/or avalid identity of the device's user. Upon manual entry of useridentification information, such as a password, PIN number, credit cardnumber, personal information, biometric data, predefined key sequences,etc., the user may be permitted to access a personal account, e.g., a“digital locker” operating on the user's smartphone 40 with a NIKE+®Connect software application and registered with the IoAAF middlewarenode. Thus, a transaction can be enabled by, for example, a combinationof personal identification input (e.g., mother's maiden name, socialsecurity number, etc.) with a secret PIN number (e.g., six oreight-digit code), or a combination of a password (e.g., created by theuser 13) and a corresponding PIN number (e.g., issued by the host system34), or a combination of a credit card input with secret PIN number.Additionally or alternatively, a barcode, RFID tag, or NFC tag may beimprinted on or attached to the IES 10 shoe structure, and configured tocommunicate a security authentication code to the IES system 30. Otherestablished authentication and security techniques, including blockchaincryptographic technology, can be utilized to prevent unauthorized accessto a user's account, for example, to minimize an impact of unsanctionedaccess to a user's account, or to prevent unauthorized access topersonal information or funds accessible via a user's account.

As an alternative or supplemental option to manually enteringidentification information at predefined process block 103, securityauthentication of the user 13 may be automated by the resident footwearcontroller 44. By way of non-limiting example, a pressure sensor 62,which may be in the nature of a binary contact-type sensor switch, maybe attached to the footwear 10 (e.g., embedded within the midsole 24 ofthe sole structure 14). This pressure sensor 62 detects a calibratedminimum load on the insole 22 and thereby establishes the presence of afoot in the upper 12. Any future automated features of the IES 10 mayfirst require the controller 44 confirm, via command prompt to thebinary pressure sensor 62, that a foot is present in the upper 12 and,thus, the footwear 10 is in use before transmitting a command signal toinitiate an automated operation. While only a single sensor isillustrated in FIG. 2, it is envisioned that the IES 10 may be equippedwith a distributed array of sensors, including pressure, temperature,moisture, and/or shoe dynamics sensors, packaged at discrete locationsthroughout the shoe structure. In the same vein, foot presence sensing(FPS) may be determined via a variety of available sensing technologies,including capacitance, magnetic, etc. Additional information regardingfoot presence sensing can be found, for example, in U.S. PatentApplication Publication Nos. 2017/0265584 A1 and 2017/0265594 A1, toSteven H. Walker, et al., both of which are incorporated herein byreference in their respective entireties and for all purposes.

In addition to functioning as a binary (ON/OFF) switch, the pressuresensor 62 may take on a multi-modal sensor configuration (e.g., apolyurethane dielectric capacitive biofeedback sensor) that detects anyof assorted biometric parameters, such as the magnitude of an appliedpressure generated by a foot in the upper 12, and outputs one or moresignals indicative thereof. These sensor signals may be passed from thepressure sensor 62 to the resident footwear controller 44, which thenaggregates, filters and processes the received data to calculate acurrent user weight. The calculated current user weight for theindividual presently using the IES 10 is compared to a previouslyvalidated, memory-stored user weight (e.g., authenticated to aregistered user of an existing personal account). In so doing, thefootwear controller 44 can to determine if the current user weight isequal to or within a predetermined threshold range of the validated userweight. Once the current user is authenticated to the validated user,the resident footwear controller 44 is enabled to transmit commandsignals to one or more subsystems within the footwear 10 to automate afeature thereof.

Automated security authentication of a user may be achieved throughother available techniques, as part of predefined process block 103,including cross-referencing characteristics of a current user's footwith previously validated characteristics of an authenticated user'sfoot. For instance, the representative IES 10 of FIG. 2 is shownfabricated with a motorized lacing system utilizing a lace motor (M) 64that is mounted to the footwear 10 and is selectively actuable totransition the shoelace 20 back-and-forth between an untensioned(loosened) state and one or more tensioned (tightened) states. Lacemotor 64 may be in the nature of a two-way DC electric worm-gear motorthat is housed inside the sole structure 14 and controlled by theresident footwear controller 44. Activation of the lace motor 64 may beinitiated via a manually-activated switch built into the shoe structureor softkey activation through an app on the user's smartphone 40 orsmartwatch 42. Alternatively, motor control may be automated via theresident footwear controller 44, for example, in response to a sensorsignal from pressure sensor 62 indicating that a foot has been placedinside the upper 12. Shoelace tension may be actively modulated throughgoverned operation of the lace motor 64 by the controller 44 during useof the IES 10, e.g., to better retain the foot in response to dynamicuser movement. The foregoing functions, as well as any other logicallyrelevant option or feature disclosed herein, may be applied toalternative types of wearable apparel, including but not limited toclothing, headgear, eyewear, wrist wear, neck wear, leg wear,undergarments, and the like. Moreover, the lace motor 64 may be adaptedto automate the tensioning and loosening of straps, latches, cables andother commercially available mechanisms for fastening shoes.

Similar to the pressure sensor 62 discussed above, the lace motor 64 maydouble as a binary (ON/OFF) switch that effectively enables and disablesautomated features of the IES 10. That is, the resident footwearcontroller 44, prior to executing an automated feature, may communicatewith the lace motor 64 to determine whether the shoelace 20 is in atensioned or untensioned state. If the latter, all automated featuresmay be disabled by the resident footwear controller 44 to prevent theinadvertent initiation of an automated feature while the IES 10 is notin use, for example. Conversely, upon determination that the lace 20 isin the tensioned state, the footwear controller 44 is permitted totransmit automation command signals.

During operation of the lace motor 64, the shoelace 20 may be placed inany one of multiple discrete, tensioned positions to accommodate feetwith differing girths or users with different tension preferences. Alace sensor, which may be built into the motor 64 or packaged in thesole structure 14 or upper 12, may be employed to detect a currenttensioned position of the lace 20 for a given user. Alternatively,real-time tracking of a position of an output shaft (e.g., a worm gear)of the two-way electric lace motor 64 or a position of a designatedsection of the lace 20 (e.g., a lace spool mated with the motor's wormgear) may be used to determine lace position. Upon tensioning of thelace 20, the resident footwear controller 44 communicates with the lacemotor 64 and/or lace sensor to identify a current tensioned position ofthe lace 20 for a current user. This current tensioned position iscompared to a previously validated, memory-stored lace tensionedposition (e.g., authenticated to a registered user of an existingpersonal account). Through this comparison, the footwear controller 44can determine if the current tensioned position is equal to or within apredetermined threshold range of the validated tensioned position. Afterauthenticating the current user to the validated user, command signalsmay be transmitted via the resident footwear controller 44 to one ormore subsystems within the footwear 10 to automate a feature thereof.

Upon completion of the authentication procedure set forth in predefinedprocess block 103, the method 100 of FIG. 4 proceeds to input/outputblock 105 with processor-executable instructions to retrieve sufficientdata to identify respective locations of a wearable electronic deviceand a remote computing node with which it is communicating. In accordwith the illustrated example of FIG. 3, the IES 10 may receive, eitherdirectly or through cooperative operation with the smartphone 40 orsmartwatch 42, location data from the remote host system 34 and/or cloudcomputing system 36 that is indicative of a current location of the user13 and a current location of the motor vehicle 32. User location canalso, or alternatively, be tracked through a rideshare app or a routeplanning app running on the user's smartphone 40. Location and movementof the IES 10 and, thus, the user 13 can also be determined, forexample, through a satellite-based GPS navigation system transceiverbuilt into the upper 12 or sole structure 14. When paired, and thematched driver is in route, a back office intermediary server, such ascloud computing system 36 operating as a middleware node, tracks inreal-time the location of the vehicle 32, e.g., either through anon-board transmission device or through an app on the driver's personalcomputing device.

The method 100 of FIG. 4 continues to decision block 107 to determinewhether the wearable electronic device and user's joint location iswithin a predetermined location or a predetermined proximity to thenode's location. Continuing with the above example, the user'ssmartphone 40 or smartwatch 42 may display the real-time locations ofthe IES 10 and vehicle 32 on a map using a distinct graphic for eachparty (e.g., using a corresponding graphical pin, symbol, avatar,animation, etc.), as well as movement of the IES 10 relative to themotor vehicle 32, for example, via placement and movement of thesegraphics. Concomitantly, the IES 10 and/or IES system 30 may monitor acurrent proximity (e.g., number of feet, number of miles, number ofminutes, etc.) of the IES 10 from the current location of the vehicle32. Optional arrangements can limit the determination of decision block107 to a user-selected or system-designated proximity (e.g., within 100feet or less) and/or within a user-selected or system-designatedlocation (e.g., a designated rideshare pickup location, a user-selectedparking lot, etc.). As yet another option, the predetermined locationmay include a virtual perimeter or “geofence” that is dynamicallygenerated by the resident footwear controller 44. In this latterinstance, the IES 10 and/or IES system 30 detects when a location-awaredevice of the vehicle 32 breaches the geofence. Upon determining thatthe user's and vehicle's current locations are not within thepredetermined proximity/location of each other (Block 107=NO), themethod 100 may return to input/output block 105. In that regard,location tracking at block 105 and proximity assessment at block 107 maybe executed in a continuous loop until a positive determination isreturned.

In response to the node's and/or user's determined location entering thepredetermined location, or the node's location coming within proximityto the user's determined location (Block 107=YES), or both, one or morecommand signals are transmitted to one or more subsystems to execute oneor more automated features of a wearable electronic device. As generallyindicated at process block 109, for example, a first command signal istransmitted to a first subsystem to execute a first automated featureAF₁ of an intelligent electronic shoe. According to the illustratedexample of FIG. 3, resident footwear controller 44 may confirm that themotor vehicle 32 is now within 100 ft or other pre-designated distanceof the IES 10 and, thus, the user 13 is in plain sight of the vehicledriver. Resident footwear controller 44 automatically responds to thisdetermination (i.e., without any user or external system prompt) bytransmitting a command signal to resident lighting system 56 to activatelighting device 58 to thereby generate a predetermined light output.This predetermined light output may include a personalized color (e.g.,aqua for a rider with UBER®, pink for a rider with LYFT®, green, blueand green for BLABLACAR®, etc.) or a corresponding blinking pattern(e.g., strobing, user-specific or driver-specific blinking pattern,selected script in Morse Code, etc.). In at least some implementations,the selected color and/or pattern is detectable by a digital camera withan optical sensor on the motor vehicle 32. Once detected, a residentvehicle controller or the ridesharing app on the driver's smartphone canevaluate the personalized color/pattern to verify the waiting user 13 ofthe IES 10 corresponds to the user's current ride-share request. As anoption, the system may employ light-based wireless opticalauthentication, e.g., using LiFi, to transmit user authentication data.

It is envisioned that any of the disclosed connected wearable electronicdevices may automate additional or alternative features as part of themethodology 100 set forth in FIG. 4. Responsive to the node's determinedlocation being within the predetermined location or coming within thepredetermined proximity to the user's determined location (Block107=YES), a second command signal may be transmitted to a secondsubsystem to execute a second automated feature AF₂ of the wearableelectronic device, as indicated at process block 111. As a non-limitingexample, the IES 10 of FIG. 2 is shown equipped with a haptic transducer66 that is housed inside the sole structure 14 in operativecommunication to the insole 22. To alert the user 13 of IES 10 that therideshare vehicle 32 has reached the predetermined location and/or iswithin proximity to the user's current location, the resident footwearcontroller 44 emits a command signal to the haptic transducer 66 togenerate a haptic cue (e.g., a perceptible vibration force or a seriesof vibration pulses) that is transmitted from the midsole 24, throughthe insole 22, and to the user's foot. Operation of the haptictransducer 66 may be coordinated with the output of the vehicle 32.

An optional third automated feature AF₃ may include operating the lacemotor 64 as a haptic force-feedback device that is selectively activatedby the footwear controller 44 to rapidly tension and release theshoelace 20. Audible, visual or haptic feedback from the IES 10 may beemployed to notify the wearer of interactions with other computingdevices, such as light system or haptic system feedback to alert theuser to an incoming call on their personal smartphone. Likewise, the IES10 may operate in conjunction with the smartphone 40 (e.g., coordinatedflashing of an LED camera light or an eccentric rotating mass (ERM)actuator) or an active apparel element 11 (e.g., coordinated activationof a built-in tactile or haptic device in the user's shirt), asillustrated in FIG. 3. As yet another option, haptic feedback can beutilized to provide turn-by-turn directions to the user (e.g., left footor right foot vibrates at a heightened intensity and/or with adesignated pulse pattern to indicate a left turn or right turn). In thesame vein, haptic feedback can be employed in a similar fashion todirect a user along a pre-selected route or to warn a user againsttaking a particular route (e.g., deemed unsafe). Additional informationregarding footwear and apparel with haptic feedback can be found, forexample, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0154505 A1, toErnest Kim, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entiretyand for all purposes.

Optionally, the IES 10 may be provided with an audio system, which isrepresented in FIG. 1 by a miniaturized audio speaker 68 that isattached to the rear quarter 12C of the upper 12. Resident footwearcontroller 44, upon confirming that the user and/or node are within thepredetermined location or are within proximity to each other,automatically transmits a command signal to the audio system speaker 68to generate a predetermined sound output. As another option, the lacemotor 64 may repeatedly tighten/loosen the shoelace 20 as a signal/cue,e.g., of an arriving pickup, a check in, a connection, etc. In yetanother option, the IES 10 may be used by a user to locate,self-authenticate and access an autonomous vehicle or vehicle lease. Themethod 100 may then terminate at terminal block 113 and/or loop back toterminal block 101.

In addition to automating features of adaptive apparel and footwear,disclosed wearable electronic devices may automate features on a remotecomputing node. Referring once again to the representativeimplementation illustrated in FIG. 3, resident footwear controller 44may respond to the user's/node's current location being within thepredetermined location or within proximity to each other by emitting acommand signal to an in-vehicle control unit 70 of the motor vehicle 32with instructions to generate an audible or visual output that willfacilitate the rideshare interaction between the rider and driver. Theseinstructions may cause one or both vehicle headlamps 72 to illuminate,flash, increase the intensity of light output, or a combination thereof,such that the motor vehicle 32 is more readily perceptible to the user13. As an optional application, the resident footwear controller 44 maycoordinate the light output of the vehicle headlamps 72 with the lightoutput of the IES light system 56, e.g., such that they illuminateand/or flash in unison. In addition, or alternatively, command signalsreceived from the footwear controller 44 via in-vehicle control unit 70may cause activation and/or modulation of the vehicle's horn system 74or other in-vehicle audio system.

Another optional feature may be a “dance party” mode wherein a musicalinterlude output by any of the vehicle's audio components, accompaniedby a light show output by any of the vehicle's light systems, may betriggered via the IES 10. Sound (audio/music) output from the motorvehicle 32 may be linked to one or more features and subsystems of theIES 10. Coordinated activation of the shoelace motor 64, lighting device58, and/or haptic transducer 66 may be provided to sync automation ofthe IES 10 with sound and/or light output from the vehicle 32. Audiooutput of the user's personal electronic device(s), such as smartphone40 or smartwatch 42, can also be synced in a similar manner.Footwear-to-vehicle communications can also be employed to allow the IES10, after verifying security authentication of the current user, to lockor unlock a vehicle door or provide access to a vehicle trunkcompartment. In the same vein, an authenticated user may use their IES10 as an electronic key fob to start a vehicle or automate one or morepreset driver settings, such as a desired seat position, a desiredsteering wheel position, desired mirror positions, etc.

Footwear-to-infrastructure communications may be enabled to allow theIES 10 to communicate with a networked “smart city” controller that, inturn, can modulate street lighting or traffic light changes to improvesafety for a walker or runner. Conversely, the “smart city” controllermay communicate with the IES 10 to warn the user they are coming up to apedestrian crossing with a “Do Not Walk” sign signaling that pedestriansmust yield the right of way to oncoming vehicles. Light features builtinto the shoe may also be used during an athletic event (e.g.,coordinated to match the colors of a user's favorite athletic team) orwhile exercising (e.g., to light roadway while running at night).Security features may also be installed to render the IES unusable to anon-authenticated party. For instance, the lace motor 64 may be renderedinoperable by the footwear controller 44 upon determining that theperson wearing the IES 10 is an unauthorized user. In tandem, thecontroller 44 may transmit an electronic alert to the user's smartphone40 or smartwatch 42 notifying them of the potential theft or misuse ofthe IES 10.

Optional configurations may provide intelligent electronic footwear orapparel that is adapted for instructional purposes. As an example, auser or instructor can wear the IES 10 when helping to teach a personhow to drive an automobile. For instance, the IES 10 may be configuredsuch that an instructor can press their feet, through the shoe, hard toa passenger compartment floor panel to simulate depressing a brakepedal. A built-in pressure sensor 62 detects the instructor's footgesture, outputs a corresponding signal to the footwear controller 44,and the IES 10 communicates with the vehicle 32 brake control module(BCM) to activate the vehicle brakes. In addition, or alternatively, theIES 10 may communicate with a pair of intelligent electronic shoes wornby the student, transmitting instructions to provide sensory feedback tothe student that they should be using their foot to physically depressthe brake pedal and thereby apply the vehicle's brake system. Inaddition to teaching a student how to drive, haptic, auditory and/orvisual feedback from the IES 10 may be employed to teach a wearer of thefootwear a series of steps in a dance routine, proper transfer of bodyweight when swinging a golf club or baseball bat, proper timing, gait,and step count for executing hurdles, etc.

In addition to facilitating data exchanges between a wearable electronicdevice and a motor vehicle, many of the disclosed concepts are similarlyapplicable to non-ridesharing and non-automotive applications. Forinstance, the remote computing node may take on alternative forms fromthose described above, such as a central server computer or a parallelHMI of a residential or commercial security system. When the user 13 ofthe IES 10 enters a predetermined location (e.g., an entry way, ahallway, a room, etc.) or is within a pre-selected proximity of thefacility being monitored (e.g., delineated by an active geofence), theresident footwear controller 44 of FIG. 2 may transmit a deactivationcommand signal to the security system server computer or HMI such thatthe user 13 may enter the facility without having to manually deactivatethe security system. In FIG. 5, for example, a representative user 213is shown approaching the front entrance of a building 232 that issecured by a commercial security system (represented by a non-contact,video-monitored entry panel 234). One or both of the IES 10 worn by theuser 213 emits an invisible geofence 215 that encircles the user 213.Once the user 213 is sufficiently close to the building 232 for thevideo-monitored entry panel 234 to breach or otherwise penetrate theIES-generated geofence 215, the IES 10 automatically transmits asecurity authentication signal to the security system entry panel 234whereby the user 213 is granted access to the building 232 (portrayed bythe automated opening of the left-most security door at the entrance ofthe building 232). Alternative system configurations may use othercommunication means, including any of those described above and below,to facilitate interaction between the IES 10 and security system 234.

As yet a further example, the remote computing node may be in the natureof a home automation system (or “smart home”) that controls the climate,lighting, blinds, appliances, etc., of the user's home. When a user ofthe IES 10 enters or exits a predetermined location (e.g., a front door,a garage, a hallway, a room, etc.) or enters or exits a pre-selectedproximity of the residence being regulated by the home automationsystem, the resident footwear controller 44 may transmit any one or morecommand signals to the home automation system to lock or unlock a door,activate or deactivate a room light, increase or decrease a temperatureof a thermostat, or a combination of the foregoing features. In FIG. 6,for example, a representative user 313 is shown wandering around a home332 with various appliances and devices and subsystems that arecontrolled, in whole or in part, by a residential home automation system(represented by a WiFi-enabled touchscreen gateway panel 334).Responsive to the user 313 moving from a first room to a second room(e.g., walking from the living room into the bedroom), the IES 10 mayautomatically transmit a series of command signals to: (1) illuminatethe lights in the second room; (2) darken the lights in the first room;(3) switch off one or more devices (e.g., television) in the first room;and (4) modulate the temperature in the second room.

IES 10 of FIG. 2 may be considered particularly useful for interactingwith a fully assisted or a fully autonomous motor vehicle, such as thoseclassified as Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Levels 3, 4 or 5vehicles. In addition to enabling controller-authenticated and automatedlocking, unlocking, and motor start of a vehicle, the IES 10 maycommunicate with a powertrain control module (PCM) or a route planningmodule (RPM) to automatically coordinate transporting the user 13 of theIES 10 to a predetermined location. In a specific example, motor vehicle32 of FIG. 3 may propagate a unique geofence signal in order to pairwith multiple users wearing compatible IES. If user 13 is within theboundary of the vehicle's geofence, the IES 10 responds by automaticallygenerating a first visual, audible and/or haptic output to notify theuser 13 they have breached the geofence. The user 13 may then initiate adedicated mobile app operating on their smartphone 40 to identify acurrent real-time location of the motor vehicle 32, which may bedisplayed on a GPS or navigation map application. When the user 13 iswithin close proximity of the motor vehicle 32 (e.g., ten (10) meters orless), the IES 10 may generate a second visual, audible and/or hapticoutput to notify the user 13 they are within a predetermined proximityto the vehicle 32 and, thus, should be able to visually identify thevehicle 32.

Once the user 13 locates the motor vehicle 32, a two-way authenticationprocess will take place between the resident footwear controller 44 ofthe IES 10 and a central electronic control unit (ECU) of the motorvehicle 32 or a server computer of a backend of middleware nodefacilitating the F2V operation. Once verified, the motor vehicle 32 willsignal to the user 13 that they have the option to enter the vehicle'spassenger compartment. A validation key may concomitantly issue to theuser 13 via the IoAAF system; user 13 can retrieve the key via theaforementioned smartphone app. If the user 13 elects to enter the motorvehicle 32, the user 13 may be taken to a specified or unspecifiedlocation (an “Unlock Location”) where a reserved product is waiting forthe user 13. Once the user 13 arrives at the Unlock Location, the user13 may be required to input the validation key to access to the reservedproduct.

Aspects of this disclosure may be implemented, in some embodiments,through a computer-executable program of instructions, such as programmodules, generally referred to as software applications or applicationprograms executed by any of the controller or controller variationsdescribed herein. Software may include, in non-limiting examples,routines, programs, objects, components, and data structures thatperform particular tasks or implement particular data types. Thesoftware may form an interface to allow a computer to react according toa source of input. The software may also cooperate with other codesegments to initiate a variety of tasks in response to data received inconjunction with the source of the received data. The software may bestored on any of a variety of memory media, such as CD-ROM, magneticdisk, bubble memory, and semiconductor memory (e.g., various types ofRAM or ROM).

Moreover, aspects of the present disclosure may be practiced with avariety of computer-system and computer-network configurations,including multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based orprogrammable-consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers,and the like. In addition, aspects of the present disclosure may bepracticed in distributed-computing environments where tasks areperformed by remote-processing devices that are linked through acommunications network. In a distributed-computing environment, programmodules may be located in both local and remote computer-storage mediaincluding memory storage devices. Aspects of the present disclosure maytherefore be implemented in connection with various hardware, softwareor a combination thereof, in a computer system or other processingsystem.

Any of the methods described herein may include machine readableinstructions for execution by: (a) a processor, (b) a controller, and/or(c) any other suitable processing device. Any algorithm, software,protocol or method disclosed herein may be embodied in software storedon a tangible medium such as, for example, a flash memory, a CD-ROM, afloppy disk, a hard drive, a digital versatile disk (DVD), or othermemory devices, but persons of ordinary skill will readily appreciatethat the entire algorithm and/or parts thereof could alternatively beexecuted by a device other than a controller and/or embodied in firmwareor dedicated hardware in a known manner (e.g., implemented by anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logicdevice (PLD), a field programmable logic device (FPLD), discrete logic,etc.). Further, although specific algorithms are described withreference to flowcharts depicted herein, persons of ordinary skill willreadily appreciate that many other methods of implementing the examplemachine readable instructions may alternatively be used.

The following exemplary features and configurations are not intended torepresent every embodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure.Rather, many of the features and advantages of the present disclosurewill become more readily apparent from the following representativeexamples. In this regard, each of the disclosed systems, methods,devices, protocols, etc., including those illustrated in the figures,may comprise any of the features, options, and alternatives describedherein with respect to the other embodiments, singly and in anycombination, unless explicitly disclaimed or logically prohibited.

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to intelligent electronicshoe systems for a foot of a user. The IES system includes an upperconfigured to attach to the foot of the user, and a sole structureattached to the upper and configured to support thereon the foot of theuser. The sole structure has an outsole that defines the ground-engagingportion of the IES. A light system, which is mounted to the solestructure and/or the upper, is configured to generate light in responseto a command signal. A wireless communications device is configured towirelessly communicate with a remote computing node. The IES system alsoincludes a resident or remote footwear controller that is operativelyconnected to the wireless communications device and the light system.The footwear controller is configured to: receive one or more locationdata sets indicative of a user location of the user and a node locationof the remote computing node. The footwear controller determines whetherthe user location is within a predetermined location or proximity to thenode location. Responsive to the user location being within thepredetermined location or proximity to the node location, the controllertransmits a command signal to the light system to generate apredetermined light output.

For any of the disclosed IES systems, the footwear controller may befurther configured to transmit a second command signal to a controlsystem of the remote computing node to generate an audible or visualoutput, e.g., in response to the user location being within thepredetermined location/proximity to the node location. The remotecomputing node may be a motor vehicle with a vehicle headlamp system. Inthis instance, the visual output may include illumination, flashingand/or intensification of a light output of the vehicle headlamp system.The audible output of the vehicle may include activation and/ormodulation of an audible output of the vehicle's horn system. Thefootwear controller may be further configured to coordinate the lightoutput of the vehicle headlamp system with the predetermined lightoutput of the IES light system.

For any of the disclosed IES systems, the wireless communications deviceof the IES system is further configured to wirelessly connect to theportable electronic device and thereby wirelessly communicate with theremote computing node. The IES system may comprise a haptic transducerthat is attached to the sole structure and/or the upper. The footwearcontroller may transmit a third command signal to the haptic transducerto generate a haptic cue, e.g., in response to the user's location beingwithin the predetermined location/proximity to the node's location. Asanother option, the IES system may include an audio system that isattached to the sole structure and/or the upper. The footwear controllermay transmit a fourth command signal to the audio system to generate apredetermined sound output, e.g., in response to the user's locationbeing within the predetermined location/proximity to the node'slocation.

For any of the disclosed IES systems, the remote computing node may be asecurity system; in this instance, the footwear controller may transmita deactivation command signal to the security system, e.g., responsiveto the user location being within the predetermined location orproximity to the node location. Optionally, the remote computing nodemay be a home automation system; in this instance, the footwearcontroller may transmit a fifth command signal to the home automationsystem to lock or unlock a door, activate or deactivate a room light,and/or increase or decrease a temperature of a thermostat, e.g., whenthe user's location is within the predetermined location or proximity tothe node's location.

For any of the disclosed IES systems, the predetermined location mayinclude a geofence that is defined by the footwear controller. Thecommand signal for activating the light system may be transmitted upondetection of the remote computing node breaching the geofence. The IESsystem may further comprise a pressure sensor that is mounted to thesole structure or upper; the pressure sensor is configured to detect apresence (or absence) of the foot in the upper. In this instance, thecommand signal for activating the IES light system is transmitted, atleast in part, as a response to the detected presence of the foot in theupper. The pressure sensor may also (or alternatively) be configured todetect the user's weight. In this instance, the footwear controller mayreceive a sensor signal from the pressure sensor that is indicative ofthe user's detected weight, determine if the detected weight is within apredetermine range of a memory-stored validated user weight, andtransmit the command signal to the IES light system only if the detectedweight is within the predetermine range of the validated user weight.

For any of the disclosed IES systems, a shoelace is attached to theupper, and a lace motor is mounted inside the sole structure andconfigured to selectively transition the shoelace between tensioned anduntensioned states. The footwear controller may communicate with thelace motor to determine whether the shoelace is in the tensioned oruntensioned state. The command signal for activating the IES lightsystem is transmitted further in response to the shoelace being in thetensioned state. For some applications, the tensioned state includesmultiple discrete tensioned positions; the IES system may include a lacesensor that detects a current one of the discrete tensioned positionsfor the user. In this instance, the footwear controller may receive asensor signal from the lace sensor that is indicative of the currentdiscrete tensioned position for the user. From this data, the controllermay determine if the current discrete tensioned position corresponds toa memory-stored validated lace tensioned position; the activationcommand signal for the IES light system may be transmitted in responseto the current discrete tensioned position corresponding to thevalidated lace tensioned position.

For any of the disclosed IES systems, the remote computing node mayinclude an optical sensor that is operable to detect the predeterminedlight output of the IES light system. This light output may include apersonalized color and/or blinking pattern that is configured to verifythe user to the remote computing node. For at least some embodiments,the IES system's wireless communications device includes a BLE, CAT-M1and/or CAT-NB1 wireless interface. The IES system may also include abarcode, an RFID tag, and/or an NFC tag attached to the solestructure/upper, each of which is configured to communicate a securityauthentication code to the remote computing node.

Additional aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a method ofmanufacturing an article of footwear for a foot of a user. This methodincludes: providing an upper that is configured to receive and attach tothe foot of the user; providing a sole structure that is configured tosupport thereon the foot of the user, the sole structure having anoutsole defining a ground-engaging portion; attaching the sole structureto the upper; mounting a light system to the sole structure and/or theupper, the light system being configured to generate light in responseto a command signal; mounting a wireless communications device to thesole structure and/or the upper, the wireless communications devicebeing configured to wirelessly communicate with a remote computing node;and mounting a resident controller to the sole structure and/or theupper, the resident controller being operatively connected to thewireless communications device and the light system. The residentcontroller is configured to: receive location data indicative of theuser's location; receive location data indicative of the remotecomputing node's location; determine whether the user's location iswithin a predetermined location or proximity to the node's location;and, responsive to the user being within the predeterminedlocation/proximity to the node, transmitting a command signal to thelight system to generate a predetermined light output.

Other aspects of this disclosure are directed to a method of executingan automated feature of an intelligent electronic shoe. The IES includesan open or closed-construction upper for attaching to a foot of a user,a sole structure that is attached to the upper and defines aground-engaging surface, and a light system that is operable to generatelight in response to an electronic command signal. The method includesreceiving, by a resident footwear controller via a wirelesscommunications device, location data indicative of a user's location andlocation data indicative of a remote computing node's location. Themethod also includes determining, via the footwear controller, whetherthe user's location is within a predetermined location or proximity tothe node's location. In response to the user's location being within thepredetermined location/proximity to the node's location, the footwearcontroller automatically transmits a command signal to the light systemto generate a predetermined light output.

For any of the disclosed methods, the footwear controller may furtherrespond to the user's location being within the predeterminedlocation/proximity to the node's location by transmitting a secondcommand signal to a control system of the remote computing node togenerate an audible or visual output. In some applications, the remotecomputing node is a motor vehicle with a vehicle headlamp system; inthis instance, the visual output includes illumination, flashing and/orintensification of the light output of the vehicle's headlamp system.Optionally, the footwear controller may coordinate the light output ofthe vehicle's headlamp system with the predetermined light output of theIES's light system. The commanded audible output of the motor vehiclemay include activation and/or modulation of an audible output of thevehicle's horn system.

For any of the disclosed methods, the wireless communications device maybe configured to wirelessly connect to a portable electronic device ofthe user and thereby wirelessly communicate with the remote computingnode. As yet a further option, the IES may include a haptic transducerthat is attached to the sole structure and/or upper; in this instance,the footwear controller may automatically transmit a third commandsignal to the haptic transducer to generate a haptic cue in response tothe user's location being within the predetermined location/proximity tothe node's location. The IES may also include an audio system that isattached to the sole structure and/or upper; in this case, the footwearcontroller may automatically transmit a fourth command signal to theaudio system to generate a predetermined sound output in response to theuser's location being within the predetermined location/proximity to thenode's location.

For any of the disclosed methods, the remote computing node may be asegment of a residential or commercial security system. In thisinstance, the footwear controller may automatically transmit adeactivation (or activation) command signal to the security system inresponse to the user entering (or leaving) a predetermined location orproximity with respect to a designated section of a residential orcommercial building associated with the security system. Optionally, theremote computing node may be a segment of a home automation system. Inthis instance, the footwear controller may respond to the user enteringor leaving a home (or a section of a home) associated with the homeautomation system by transmitting a fifth command signal to the homeautomation system to lock or unlock a door, activate or deactivate aroom light, and/or increase or decrease a temperature of a thermostat.The predetermined location or proximity may be defined, at least inpart, by a geofence that is generated by the footwear controller.Activation or deactivation command signals may be transmitted to aremote computing node or an IES subsystem upon detection of the remotecomputing node or the IES user breaching the geofence.

For any of the disclosed methods, the IES may incorporate therein apressure sensor that is mounted to the sole structure or upper andconfigured to detect a presence of a foot in the upper. Transmission ofa command signal by the footwear controller may be further in responseto the detected presence of the foot in the upper. A pressure sensormounted to the sole structure/upper may be configured to detect theuser's weight. In this instance, the footwear controller receives one ormore sensor signals from the pressure sensor that is/are indicative ofthe detected weight of the user. The controller then determines if thedetected weight is within a predetermine range of a memory-storedvalidated user weight. A command signal may be transmitted to the remotecomputing node or an IES subsystem in response to the detected weightbeing within the predetermine range of the validated user weight.

For any of the disclosed methods, the IES may include a shoelace orstrap that is attached to the upper, and a lace motor mounted to theshoe structure and configured to selectively transition the lace/strapbetween tensioned and untensioned states. In this instance, the residentfootwear controller may determine whether the shoelace is in thetensioned or untensioned state and, if the lace is tensioned,responsively transmit a command signal to activate an IES subsystem. Thetensioned state may be delineated into a plurality of discrete tensionedpositions. In this instance, the resident footwear controller mayidentify which of the discrete tensioned positions the lace is in (e.g.,using sensor signals received from a lace sensor or by monitoring aposition of the lace motor output shaft). Responsive to the currenttensioned position of the lace corresponding to a memory-storedvalidated lace tensioned position, the footwear controller may transmita command signal to a remote node or an IES subsystem.

For any of the disclosed methods, the remote computing node may includean optical sensor; in this instance, the predetermined light output ofthe IES light system may include a personalized color and/or a blinkingpattern that is detectable by the optical sensor and configured toverify the user to the remote computing node. The IES wirelesscommunications device may include a BLE, CAT-M1 and/or CAT-NB1 wirelessinterface. The IES may be provided with a barcode, an RFID tag, and/oran NFC tag attached to the sole structure and/or upper and configured tocommunicate a security authentication code to the remote computing node.

Additional aspects of this disclosure are directed to footwear for afoot of a user. The footwear includes an upper for receiving andattaching to the user's foot, and a sole structure that is attached tothe upper for supporting thereon the user's foot. A light system and/orsound system is/are mounted to the sole structure and configured togenerate light/sound in response to a command signal. A wirelesscommunications device is mounted inside the sole structure forwirelessly communicating with a remote computing node. A residentcontroller, which is also mounted inside the sole structure, isoperatively connected to the wireless communications device and lightsystem. The resident controller receives location data indicative of theuser's location and the remote computing node's location. The residentcontroller determines whether the user's location is within apredetermined location/proximity to the node's location; if so, theresident controller responsively transmits one or more command signalsto the light system/sound to generate a predetermined light/soundoutput.

Aspects of the present disclosure have been described in detail withreference to the illustrated embodiments; those skilled in the art willrecognize, however, that many modifications may be made thereto withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. The presentdisclosure is not limited to the precise construction and compositionsdisclosed herein; any and all modifications, changes, and variationsapparent from the foregoing descriptions are within the scope of thedisclosure as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the presentconcepts expressly include any and all combinations and subcombinationsof the preceding elements and features.

What is claimed:
 1. A method of executing an automated feature of anintelligent electronic shoe (IES), the IES including an upper forattaching to a foot of a user, a sole structure attached to the upperfor supporting thereon the foot of the user, and an alert systemattached to the sole structure and/or upper, the method comprising:receiving, via a controller through a wireless communications device,location data indicative of a user location of the user wearing the IES;receiving, via the controller through the wireless communicationsdevice, location data indicative of a vehicle location of a motorvehicle; determining, via the controller, whether the user location iswithin a predetermined location or proximity to the vehicle location;receiving, from a pressure sensor mounted to the sole structure, asensor signal indicative of a detected presence of the foot of the userin the upper; and transmitting, via the controller in response to thedetected presence of the foot in the upper and the user location beingwithin the predetermined location or proximity to the vehicle location,a command signal to the alert system of the IES to generate apredetermined visible, audible, and/or tactile alert perceptible by theuser and/or the motor vehicle.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising transmitting, via the controller in response to the userlocation being within the predetermined location or proximity to thevehicle location, a second command signal to a control system of themotor vehicle to generate an audio and/or visual output.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein the motor vehicle includes a vehicle headlampsystem, and wherein the visual output includes illumination, flashing,and/or intensification of a light output of the vehicle headlamp system.4. The method of claim 2, wherein the motor vehicle includes a vehiclehorn system, and wherein the audio output includes activation and/ormodulation of a sound output of the vehicle horn system.
 5. The methodof claim 1, wherein the user has a portable electronic device, andwherein the wireless communications device is further configured towirelessly connect to the portable electronic device and therebywirelessly communicate with the motor vehicle.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the alert system includes a haptic transducer, and wherein thecommand signal causes the haptic transducer to generate a haptic cue. 7.The method of claim 1, wherein the alert system includes an audiosystem, and wherein the command signal causes the audio system togenerate a predetermined sound output.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinthe predetermined location includes a geofence defined by thecontroller, and wherein the command signal is transmitted to the alertsystem upon detection of the motor vehicle breaching the geofence. 9.The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, from the pressuresensor mounted to the sole structure, a sensor signal indicative of aweight of the user, wherein the command signal is transmitted to thealert system further in response to the detected weight of the userbeing within a predetermine range of a memory-stored validated userweight.
 10. A method of executing an automated feature of an intelligentelectronic shoe (IES), the IES including an upper for attaching to afoot of a user, a sole structure attached to the upper for supportingthereon the foot of the user, and an alert system attached to the solestructure and/or upper, the method comprising: receiving, via acontroller through a wireless communications device, location dataindicative of a user location of the user wearing the IES; receiving,via the controller through the wireless communications device, locationdata indicative of a vehicle location of a motor vehicle; determining,via the controller, whether the user location is within a predeterminedlocation or proximity to the vehicle location; receiving, from apressure sensor mounted to the sole structure, a sensor signalindicative of a detected weight of the user; determining if the detectedweight is within a predetermine range of a memory-stored validated userweight; and transmitting, via the controller in response to the detectedweight being within the predetermine range of the memory-storedvalidated user weight and the user location being within thepredetermined location or proximity to the vehicle location, a commandsignal to the alert system of the IES to generate a predeterminedvisible, audible, and/or tactile alert perceptible by the user and/orthe motor vehicle.
 11. A method of executing an automated feature of anintelligent electronic shoe (IES), the IES including an upper forattaching to a foot of a user, a sole structure attached to the upperfor supporting thereon the foot of the user, and an alert systemattached to the sole structure and/or upper, the method comprising:receiving, via a controller through a wireless communications device,location data indicative of a user location of the user wearing the IES;receiving, via the controller through the wireless communicationsdevice, location data indicative of a vehicle location of a motorvehicle; determining, via the controller, whether the user location iswithin a predetermined location or proximity to the vehicle location;determining, via a lace motor mounted to the sole structure and/or upperand operable to selectively transition a shoelace of the IES betweentensioned and untensioned states, if the shoelace is in the tensionedstate; and transmitting, via the controller in response to the shoelacebeing in the tensioned state and the user location being within thepredetermined location or proximity to the vehicle location, a commandsignal to the alert system of the IES to generate a predeterminedvisible, audible, and/or tactile alert perceptible by the user and/orthe motor vehicle.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the tensionedstate of the shoelace includes a plurality of discrete tensionedpositions, the method further comprising: receiving, from a lace sensorconfigured to detect the discrete tensioned positions, a sensor signalindicative of a current one of the discrete tensioned positions of theshoelace; and determining if the current one of the discrete tensionedpositions corresponds to a memory-stored validated lace tensionedposition, wherein the command signal is transmitted to the alert systemfurther in response to the current one of the discrete tensionedpositions corresponding to the memory-stored validated lace tensionedposition.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising transmitting,via the controller in response to the user location being within thepredetermined location or proximity to the vehicle location, a secondcommand signal to a control system of the motor vehicle to generate anaudio and/or visual output.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein themotor vehicle includes a vehicle headlamp system, and wherein the visualoutput includes illumination, flashing, and/or intensification of alight output of the vehicle headlamp system.
 15. The method of claim 13,wherein the motor vehicle includes a vehicle horn system, and whereinthe audio output includes activation and/or modulation of a sound outputof the vehicle horn system.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the userhas a portable electronic device, and wherein the wirelesscommunications device is further configured to wirelessly connect to theportable electronic device and thereby wirelessly communicate with themotor vehicle.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein the alert systemincludes: a haptic transducer activated by the command signal togenerate a predetermined haptic cue; and/or an audio system activated bythe command signal to generate a predetermined sound output.
 18. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the predetermined location includes ageofence defined by the controller, and wherein the command signal istransmitted to the alert system upon detection of the motor vehiclebreaching the geofence.
 19. The method of claim 11, further comprisingreceiving, from a pressure sensor mounted to the sole structure, asensor signal indicative of a presence of the foot of the user in theupper, wherein the command signal is transmitted to the alert systemfurther in response to the detected presence of the foot in the upper.20. The method of claim 11, wherein the motor vehicle includes anoptical sensor, and wherein the alert includes a personalized colorand/or a blinking pattern detectable by the optical sensor andconfigured to verify the user to the motor vehicle.